Merit Badges

Merit
badges signify the mastery of certain Scoutcraft skills, as well as
helping boys increase their skill in an area of personal interest. Of
the more than 100 merit badges available, 21 must be earned to qualify
for Eagle Scout. Of this group, 12 badges are required, including First
Aid, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation,
Citizenship in the World, Communications, Environmental Science,
Personal Fitness, Personal Management, Camping, and Family Life. In
addition, a Scout has a choice between Emergency Preparedness and
Lifesaving and a choice among Cycling, Hiking, and Swimming. A merit
badge is an award that is presented to a Scout when he completes the
requirements for one of the merit badge subjects. The badge is only a
small piece of khaki cloth with a design embroidered in color, but its
significance is as large as the interest of the merit badge counselor
who helps a Scout earn it.

Millions
of Scouts "browse" among the more than 100 subjects, choosing those
that seem most interesting to them. Some subjects are in craftwork, some
in vocational fields, some in service to others, and many in cultural
or self-improvement areas. In addition, certain merit badges are
required for the Eagle Scout rank.

It
is in the career fields that adults can make a vital impact on the life
of a Scout by helping him with merit badges. Badges such as
Entrepreneurship, Graphic Arts, Engineering, Chemistry, and many others
provide the finest kind of orientation toward a possible career for the
Scout.

Service
clubs, unions, and professional societies often support the merit badge
program through their vocational guidance committees. Members offer
their services as counselors, and the group as a whole may help recruit
and train counselors for districts or councils.

Merit
badge counselors provide the means for Scouts to explore many subjects
that may not be available to them otherwise. The Scout who has earned a
number of merit badges gains confidence, finds greater purpose in life,
and becomes a better person from his experience. This cannot happen
without the service of thousands of merit badge counselors expert in
particular subjects and interested in helping Scouts grow into men of
character who are ready to take their place in the world of work as
participating citizens.

RequirementsYou
are expected to meet the requirements as they are stated - no more and
no less. You are expected to do exactly what is stated in the
requirements. If it says "show or demonstrate," that is what you must
do. Just telling about it isn’t enough. The same thing holds true for
such words as "make," "list," "in the field," and "collect," "identify,"
and "label."

Note:
There is no deadline for earning merit badges, except the Scout's 18th
Birthday. Once a Scout has started working on a merit badge (i.e.
obtained a signed "blue card" application for merit badge from his
Scoutmaster, had an initial discussion with a merit badge counselor, and
started working on the requirements), he may continue using those
requirements until he completes the badge or turns 18. There is no one
year limit on the so-called "partials".

In
contrast to the rule for rank advancements, which imposes a specific
deadline for using the old requirements, The rules for merit badges are
as follows:

If
the requirements change while a Scout is working on the badge, he may
continue to use the old requirements until he completes the work, or he
may use the new requirements if he wishes. It is his choice, and his alone.

If
a merit badge is discontinued, Scouts working on the badge when it is
removed from the Boy Scout Requirements booklet may continue to work
toward completing the badge, and get credit for earning the badge, until
they turn 18. However, it may not be possible to obtain an actual merit
badge patch, once the local council's supply is exhausted.

If
a discontinued merit badge is replaced with one or more other merit
badges covering the same or similar topics (such as Rifle and Shotgun
Shooting MB which was replaced by Rifle Shooting MB and Shotgun Shooting
MB), a Scout that has earned the discontinued badge may also earn the
new badge or badges. If the badge is simply renamed (such as Firemanship
MB which was changed to Fire Safety MB), Scouts may not earn the badge
again. If the badge number in BSA's numbering system is the same before
and after the change, it is a renaming. If a new number is assigned, it
is a replacement.